Solar News

Monday 15 February 2010

Becosolar has installed a photovoltaic energy system at St. Denys’ Church in Sleaford as part of the Church of England’s ‘Shrinking the Footprint’ campaign

St. Denys' Church in Sleaford has installed the largest solar PV installation on any grade 1 listed building in the country.

The fitting of 54 Sharp 180W monocrystalline modules and three Fronius IG30 inverters means Lincolnshire parishioners are basking in light from the sun.

Installers Becosolar said the 9.72kWp system, which has been blessed by the Bishop of Lincoln, would produce in the region of 8750kWh of electricity and save around five tonnes of carbon emissions per annum over its 25 year life expectancy.

Instead of the usual church appeals or bakesales, St. Denys' received a 50% grant from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, as well as a contribution from the BIG Lottery's Community Sustainable Energy Programme covering 45% of the costs.

The project is part of the Church of England's ‘Shrinking the Footprint' campaign, which aims to reduce the Church's carbon footprint by 40% by introducing renewables within church buildings, much like a similar National Trust policy (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story). It will also provide another income stream for the Church through Feed-in Tariffs.

However, rules set by the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches and English Heritage and the Church's listed status complicated the installation.

To avoid any damage to the ancient fabric of the building or its visual appearance, a system of attaching the panels without drilling into the medieval masonry was needed.

Newly designed Solstice lead roll clamps were used to attach the lightweight frame for the panels to the south aisle roof. A new oak framed window was then installed in the tower with a built-in cable duct to allow the power cables though to the inverters situated in the clock tower.

Richard Clash, Church Warden at St. Denys' said that the panels had had a significant impact during daylight hours.

"As we do not have a battery to store the energy generated we still use electricity from the grid at night," he said.

"However, since installing the system we have seen a significant reduction in electricity bills as the system provides electricity during daylight hours."